Sources
Exploring Insightful Sources
Welcome to our curated collection of resources, including books, films, documentaries, and various online references. Each entry offers a glimpse into the rich history of modern times and a glimmer of hope for the future. You’re welcome to explore and delve into these valuable sources of knowledge.
SILENT SPRING, RACHEL CARSON (1962)
In 1962 Rachel Carsonʼs book Silent Spring was published. The book, based on years of scientific research, warned of the negative environmental effects of the overuse of synthetic pesticides, especially DDT. Silent Spring played a pivotal role in the rise of the global environmental movement in the 70s. For more information about this publication, visit Goodreads.
THE ONE-STRAW REVOLUTION, MASANOBU FUKUOKA (1975)
Fukuoka demonstrates how the way we look at farming affects the way we look at health, nature, nutrition, spirituality and life itself. He relates the healing of the land to the process of purifying the human spirit and proposes a way of life and a way of farming in which such healing can take place. Click here to download the free PDF-file.
PERMACULTURE ONE, BILL MOLLISON & DAVID HOLMGREN (1978)
Permaculture One is a book that introduced the world to a holistic approach to designing and maintaining agriculturally productive ecosystems. This approach seeks to replicate the diversity, stability and resilience of natural ecosystems. Whether you’re gardening in your backyard or engaging in large-scale farming, this book is relevant to you. Go to Goodreads to find out more.
PERMACULTURE: A DESIGNERSʼ MANUAL, BILL MOLLISON (1988)
Permaculture is the harmonious integration of landscapes and people, providing them with food, energy, shelter and other material and non-material necessities in a sustainable way. This definitive handbook on permaculture design has been used as the textbook for the 72-hour design certificate course since 1988. You can find out more on Goodreads.
PERMACULTURE IN A NUTSHELL, PATRICK WHITEFIELD (1993)
Permaculture in a Nutshell is an accessible and concise introduction to the principles and practice of permaculture in temperate climates. It explains how permaculture can be applied in urban, rural and agricultural settings, and explores ways in which people can collaborate to rebuild real communities. This inspiring book clearly describes how we can live sustainably and is essential reading for anyone looking to reduce their environmental impact. For further details visit Goodreads.
GAIAʼS GARDEN, TOBY HEMENWAY (2001)
Gaiaʼs Garden is an introduction to ecological and permacultural gardening. It is not an introductory gardening book, but an attempt to explain sustainable techniques and concepts well enough for beginning gardeners to apply them. For more information about this publication, visit Goodreads.
Permaculture: Principles & Pathways beyond Sustainability, David Holmgren (2002)
David Holmgren sheds new light on the powerful and ever-evolving concept of Permaculture that he pioneered with Bill Mollison in the 1970s. Drawing together and integrating 25 years of thinking and teaching, it reveals a whole new way of understanding and acting based on a simple set of design principles. For more information about this publication, visit Goodreads.
HOLZERʼS PERMACULTURE, SEPP HOLZER (2004)
Sepp Holzer’s Permaculture is a practical guide to small-scale, integrated farming and gardening. In this book, he shares the skills and knowledge he has acquired from a lifetime of farming on steep mountain slopes in Austria, at an altitude of 1,500 metres. He covers every aspect of his farming methods, not just how to create a holistic system on the farm itself, but also how to make a living from it. Visit Goodreads to find out more.
MYCELIUM RUNNING, PAUL STAMETS (2005)
Mycelium Running is a mycological guide to saving the planet. Thatʼs right: growing more mushrooms may be the best thing we can do to save the environment, and in this groundbreaking text by mushroom expert Paul Stamets, youʼll discover how. For more information about this publication, visit Goodreads.
WE FEED THE WORLD, ERWIN WAGENHOFER (2005)
This documentary unveils the complex interplay between food, globalisation and the various stakeholders involved. Through powerful visuals, it reveals the complexities of food production and its connection to global hunger. It features insights from experts including key figures from Pioneer, the world’s largest seed producer, and Nestlé International, the world’s largest food company. Further information is available on the Allegrofilm website.
AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH, DAVIS GUGGENHEIM AND AL GORE (2006)
The documentary film An Inconvenient Truth was inspired by a lecture given more than 1 000 times by US Vice President Al Gore. Using scientific facts, he wanted to make the public aware that manʼs destruction of the environment has led to global warming and its disastrous consequences. Visit IMDb for more information about this film.
FOOD, INC., ROBERT KENNER (2008)
Food, Inc. is a 2008 American documentary film that examines corporate agriculture in the United States and concludes that agribusiness produces food that is unhealthy in a way that is harmful to the environment and abuses both animals and workers. Visit IMDb for more information about this film.
IN DEFENSE OF FOOD, MICHAEL POLLAN (2008)
Michael Pollan proposes a new (and very old) answer to the question of what we should eat that comes down to seven simple but liberating words: Eat food. Not too much. Mainly plants. In this brilliant book, he urges us all to start eating real food again, that is informed on the traditions and the ecology of real, wellgrown, unprocessed food. Read more on Michael Pollanʼs website.
THE TRANSITION HANDBOOK, ROB HOPKINS (2008)
With this revolutionary book, Rob Hopkins created a vision of how modern society could evolve from dependence on oil to local resilience, and inspired the launch of the Transition Network. For more information about this publication, visit Goodreads.
CREATING A FOREST GARDEN, MARTIN CRAWFORD (2010)
Forest gardening, or agroforestry, is a technique for cultivating edible crops with minimal human intervention. It involves carefully selecting complementary plant species that support and enhance each other, forming a self-sustaining ecosystem that requires minimal digging, weeding, or pest control. For further details visit Goodreads.
BUILDING SOILS NATURALLY, PHIL NAUTA (2012)
Building Soils Naturally is an indispensable handbook for organic gardeners who want to learn how to create living soil that produces healthy food and plants, by using proven, sustainable methods rooted in science. For more information about this publication, visit Goodreads.
RESTORATION AGRICULTURE, MARK SHEPARD (2013)
Restoration Agriculture explains how we can have all of the benefits of natural, perennial ecosystems and create agricultural systems that imitate nature in form and function while still providing for our food, building, fuel and many other needs – in your own backyard, farm or ranch. For more information about this publication, visit Goodreads.
THE VEGETABLE GARDENERʼS GUIDE TO PERMACULTURE, CHRISTOPHER SHEIN (2013)
This practical guide teaches gardeners of every skill – with any size space – how to live in harmony with nature and neighbours to produce and share an abundant food supply with minimal effort. For more information about this publication, visit Goodreads.
MINIMALISM, MATT DʼAVELLA (2015)
This Netflix documentary follows two friends, Joshua Fields Millburn and Ryan Nicodemus, who advocate a minimalist lifestyle. Their journey reveals that health, relationships, passion, growth and helping others are more important than materialism. Demonstrating the transformative power of owning less stuff, which is the philosophy of Minimalism. Watch at the Minimalismfilm website.
THE ART OF FRUGAL HEDONISM, ANNIE RASER-ROWLAND & ADAM GRUBB (2016)
This book proclaims to be a guide to spending less while enjoying everything more. A tweak here. A twiddle there. Every strategy in The Art of Frugal Hedonism has been designed to help you identify and adopt the most important habits needed for living frugally yet hedonistically. Apply a couple and you’ll have more money in your pocket and enjoy more sunsets. Read more on the Frugal Hedonism website.
Down to Earth, Bruno Latour (2017)
Bruno Latour makes a strong case for redefining politics in relation to the Earth rather than the global or national sphere. The most important thing to reconsider and redefine is the concept of belonging to a territory. Learning new ways to inhabit the Earth is our biggest challenge. Bringing us down to earth is the task of politics today. Find more information about this book on Goodreads.
ESSENCE OF PERMACULTURE, DAVID HOLMGREN (2020)
The Essence of Permaculture offers an introduction to the concept and principles of permaculture, as set out in Permaculture: Principles and Pathways Beyond Sustainability, which was first published in 2002. It introduces permaculture, discusses the future of the movement, and outlines the significance and practical applications of permaculture principles. Click here to download the free PDF-file.
PRACTICAL SELF-SUFFICIENCY, DICK AND JAMES STRAWBRIDGE (2020)
This book will teach you top tips and handy life skills, from beer brewing and willow weaving to fermented foods and chicken coops. It will show you how to embrace green living. Dick Strawbridge and his son James created this complete manual on eco-living as part of their commitment to living in a more environmentally friendly way. Visit Goodreads for more information.
PLANET OF THE HUMANS, JEFF GIBBS & MICHAEL MOORE (2020)
Released on the eve of the 50th anniversary of Earth Day and in the midst of the global Covid-19 pandemic, Planet of the Humans takes a harsh look at how the environmental movement has lost the battle through well-meaning but disastrous choices, including the belief that solar panels and windmills would save us, and by giving in to the corporate interests of Wall Street. Click here to see
the full documentary on YouTube.
KISS THE GROUND, REBECCA & JOSH TICKELL (2020)
Kiss the Ground, is a powerful documentary film exploring soil regeneration and its place as a compelling and effective solution to our planetʼs climate crisis. Despite its Hollywood overtones, the movie managed to raise awareness about regenerative agriculture among the general public. To find out more, visit the Kiss the Ground website.
EARTH RESTORERʼS GUIDE TO PERMACULTURE, ROSEMARY MORROW (2022)
Rosemary Morrow brings a lifetime of global knowledge to Earth Restorerʼs Guide to Permaculture. This fully revised and updated edition of her classic text is a call to action. It asks and empowers us to embrace a new restorative relationship with all life. For more information about this publication, visit Goodreads.
